Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art are constantly traveling all over the world. Works from our collection are highly sought after for exhibitions in the United States and abroad. After conservators and curators evaluate whether a work is in good enough condition travel and determine the significance of the exhibition is a match, a work of art is carefully packed and accompanied by a courier on every step of its journey. Here is a sneak peek of some of one of these stories, which we will be featured in upcoming posts.

Courbet was still working on this large landscape, intended for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1879, when he died in December 1877. He painted it during his exile in Switzerland, where he had fled after being condemned for subversive activities in the Paris Commune of 1871. The view looks south over Lake Geneva toward the mountains called Les Dents du Midi. While some areas are heavily worked with a palette knife, the lower right remains unfinished.